1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of data processing systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for integrating information maintained by personal information management and/or messaging applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal information management (“PIM”) applications and electronic messaging applications have become irreplaceable tools in today's business environment. Virtually all corporate employees rely on PIM/messaging software in one form or another. In addition, a growing number of individual personal computer (“PC”) user and/or personal digital assistant (“PDA”) users rely on PIM/messaging applications to send/receive e-mail and instant messages, organize personal information such as addresses, to-do lists and personal schedules.
Two well known PIM/messaging application suites are Microsoft Outlook® and Lotus Notes®. Each of these application suites includes an e-mail client for sending/receiving e-mail, an electronic calendar for scheduling appointments, an address book for managing contact information, and a to-do list for managing upcoming tasks.
However, one limitation found in prior systems is that little or no interaction is permitted between the different PIM/messaging applications. For example, although the user's calendar may indicate that the user is in an all-day meeting, the calendar application is not capable of communicating this information to the e-mail or instant messaging application. If this level of interaction were possible, the user could configure his/her e-mail or instant messaging client to generate an automatic response and/or to enter into a “silent” mode whenever the user's calendar indicates that the user is in a meeting (e.g., “I am currently in a meeting and will respond to your message when I return”).
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved suite of PIM/messaging applications. What is also needed is a suite of PIM/messaging applications which interact together in a variety of useful ways.